Abrupt onset of sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus in a patient with capillary telangiectasia of the pons.

Capillary telangiectasia is often found incidentally on magnetic resonance imaging and may be associated with minor neurologic symptoms, but there has been little evidence about whether such lesions are responsible for these symptoms. Here we report a case of capillary telangiectasia of the right mid pons, which was associated with the abrupt onset of tinnitus and sensorineural hearing loss. Examination of the auditory brain stem responses showed abnormalities of waves III and IV on the left and bilateral prolongation of the interwave intervals. Optokinetic nystagmus showed slight left-right asymmetry.